Augur Motor Stabilizing Plate

[Bogy]

Anyone put one of these on your pellet burner? Anybody ever wonder why that motor just kind of flops around? I ordered one of these and it is due to come on Friday. I already ordered a new augur motor, and installed it, but didn't order it at the time. The augur shaft on the new motor is a different size, and the thing really flops around.

https://smokedaddyinc.com/product/auger-motor-aluminum-stabilizing-bracket/

If you are interested, the price for the item on Amazon, where shipping is included, is about $52. From the Smoke Daddy website it's $29.95, but the shipping is $25, no other options but FedEx's best. From Ebay, on the Smoke Daddy store, it's $29.95, but FedEx 2 day shipping is about $11.

[RiverJeff]

Bogy Is this on your Grid Iron?

[Bogy]

RiverJeff, I probably could have gotten one through him, and if the one I ordered doesn't last, I probably will do that. But I was looking for one that had a higher rpm to see if it would get hotter.

[RiverJeff]

Bogy If you have the newer controller Brent along with you can adjust all that over phone!
When I got mine home together we have mine set next to zero variations he can do it!!

[Bogy]

RiverJeff, I'll keep that in mind. I noticed the controller board was essentially the same as what I had. Connections were all the same, so it was just a matter of swapping out wires. But there were a few differences. Like, the capacitor that broke, with other resistors, is now under a nice plastic cover. I might not have been the only person who did that.

[WayneT]

This is a blow to programmed obsolescence.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I was amazed when I first learned that not all pellet grills had the auger actually mounted. I guess it would depend on your grill but while I see that absolutely functioning and saving wear and tear on the auger, it also looks like it could introduce a giant pain in the butt if you had to remove it down the road

[Huskee]

I'm no engineer, but I can't help but wonder why these are not included by the manufacturers, which leads me to wonder if they're counterintuitive in some way, so intentionally not used? As ItsAllGoneToTheDogs mentioned at the very least another pain when you need to remove it.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

The MAK auger is mounted via very easy to access screws. I had thought all grills would be similar but tried to help someone trouble shoot something on their grill (I think it was a pitboss) which led me down to rabbit hole to learn a lot of manufacturers don't mount it. Can you imagine if your transmission had to spin and hit your underbody before the wheels would turn? I can't imagine that being healthy for the body or the auger... but it must not matter that much.

[Huskee]

Yeah ItsAllGoneToTheDogs I suspect the slop is intentional to allow some play for maintenance. But alas I do not know. Hmm.

[RiverJeff]

I think it's guarantee repeat clients, built-in failures!!
Famous never enough time to do it right the first time plenty of time to do it right the second time!!

[Bogy]

It was delivered this morning. But at least right now I won't be installing it. We just got an inch and a half of rain. Doesn't look to bad to install. I've had it apart to replace shear pins, cleaning out the augur tube, etc., that taking it apart is not an unknown. Right now, the hopper cover is loose, I didn't bother screwing it back down after changing out the control panel. I will need to still take the hopper itself off, which will make it easier to drill the mounting screws. The instructions say to mount the motor on the plate, and connect the augur, and then put the whole assembly back in so the screw holes are in the proper location. After the screws are inserted it won't be hard to remove them if needed. When I can install the thing I'll give you an update. Hearing from ItsAllGoneToTheDogs that the MAK has the motor more securely mounted supports the idea that this is a good idea.

[Bogy]

Here's an update and evaluation. If you have a Blaz'n, forget it. The link in my first post says, "Universal Fit On Any Pellet Grill" but the Blaz'n isn't any pellet grill. I am back to an augur motor from Blaz'n, with no stabilizer plate. What I found out during my recent experiment/waste of money is that Blaz'n uses a much larger, heavier, higher amp and revolution motor than the "universal" grill. I realized this when I received the motor I tried as an experiment. I did install that motor with the plate, which needed modification to make it fit. It didn't work, yes it turned, but only at 2 rpm. When I received my replacement today from Blaz'n/M Grills there was no way the plate would fit. The correct motor is much larger than the one I had tried, and fits the space with out a lot of slop, even when only fastened to the augur. The slop I was experiencing was evidently just from a dying motor.

The plate is supposed to work with Pit Boss pellet burners, and I have a son and son in law who each have one, so I may see if one of them wants to try it.